ISLAMABAD - Confused situation on political horizon of the country is fast moving towards further confusion and uncertainty with each passing moment with Pakistan People’s Party leaders under a well-thought-out plan unleashing tirade of criticism against superior judiciary and all those standing by the court.
Although Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) President Mian Nawaz Sharif came out with strong worded condemnation to the continuation of his duties by the convicted Prime Minister in defiance of the court verdict, yet there was a sharp divide in the party ranks with hawks wanting to go all-out against the ruling coalition and make it a decisive round while the doves in the party wanted to deal the situation with rationality instead of emotionally and to adopt wait-and-watch policy till the time the detailed judgement of the court was issued by the seven-member bench of the apex court.
Sources aware of the developments taking place in the government’s quarters informed TheNation that they wanted to drag the issue in legal complexities to buy maximum time and defame the superior judiciary, the process which was already under way at various levels in shape of public protests against the judiciary and press conferences on the subject by the senior party leaders indirectly ridiculing the court verdict.
Even Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was seen in defiance mood and since his conviction he has been witnessed flouting the court orders by his acts and in his very speech on the floor of the National Assembly on Friday he had committed another contempt by saying that the decision about his fate would be made by the Speaker National Assembly who is his judge and no one else could send him packing as the member of the Parliament.
The demeanour of President Asif Ali Zardari was equally hostile and he had decided to send Prime Minister Gilani to the Nato summit in Chicago in May where President Zardari was having the formal invitation from the US President. Before proceeding to America as convicted Prime Minister, Gilani would be visiting United Kingdom to attend a security summit.
All these moves were aimed at undermining the superior judiciary and to provoke the political players in the national politics to adopt hostile posture against the government so the PPP government would go in unnatural way providing them opportunity to claim themselves as political martyrs.
On the other hand it was the dilemma of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) that after being dubbed as friendly opposition for past four years they were left with little choice but to came out strong and hostile against the ruling alliance and stand by the judiciary and force the rulers to bow to the dictates of the superior judiciary.
The sources in the PML-N informed TheNation that doves in the party were of the view that PPP wanted their forced ouster from the power corridor so that they could claim political martyrdom and they (PML-N) should not provide them the opportunity by launching some mass mobilisation campaign against them.
These saner elements in the party said that PML-N should launch protest against the ruling coalition for their outright defiance to the court verdict in mild fashion and push the rulers to succumb their demand of holding early elections and pave the way for smooth transition of power to the new government.
The fears of the PML-N that any unnatural ouster of government would involve third force (Military Establishment) to intervene and then things could swing in any direction as there would be no guarantee that any caretaker set-up installed by the establishment or superior judiciary would hold elections within 90 days and would not prolong their rule for 900 days as quoted by a senior PML-N leader who was against ‘hot pursuit’ against the ruling coalition.
But on the other hand those who were in favour of aggressive campaign to oust government were of the view that in case the PML-N would continue to play the docile role the other opposition parties would take lead and in next general elections it would cost the party dearly.
They said that it was time for the party to erase the misconception in the minds of general pubic that PML-N had played the role of friendly opposition since this government came into power and would establish that they were the real opposition in the country by forcing the rulers to bow to their knees in compliance of the superior judiciary orders.